Every Monday like clockwork, my sister and I would get an email from my mom recapping her weekend accomplishments. “I organized the den closet! I went through the boxes in the basement!” Despite the progress, board games with missing pieces and boxes of 1980s mauve home décor were still around – albeit organized more neatly. She rearranged things to make better use of the space and it was fine for a while, but eventually it was clear that she needed a more serious overhaul.
It’s not unlike what we’ve experienced over the last few years – shuffling staff and resources around to manage through COVID, then the great resignation and now, budget uncertainties. We’ve held it together but, for some, it’s time for something more transformational.
A number of clients and agency friends have reached out recently saying they’re ready for an organizational overhaul. What’s worked in the past is not what’s best for the future, and they’re ready for positive change. While each has unique challenges, we have learned some things as we’ve helped them along the way. If you’re making transformational changes to your department or agency, how do you make sure your ship isn’t destined to sink before you’ve even set sail?
Ditch the Org Chart (for now)
If your first inclination is to pull out a copy of your current org chart to see where you can make changes – stop.
Start with questions about what and who can propel the business and your clients forward over the next few years. As with any good plan, put vision and strategy before structure.
A simple from/to exercise can help you take a critical look at your current state against where you need to be. Want to move from fulfilling transactional requests toward more strategic work (who doesn’t)? Could you add more value if you shifted from teams of generalists to more specialized resources? Consider the work, how others perceive it, how it’s measured, who’s doing it and the impact to the business.
Sometimes It Takes an Outsider
My sister and I booked a weekend to help my mom with her major closet overhaul. We were there to ask the tough questions – “We know they cost a fortune at the time, but do you still need a full set of 1983 encyclopedias?”
Look to others for guidance and to ask the difficult questions. Ask peers how they’ve evolved their teams and departments – what did they do, and how did they communicate it within their organization? Talk with your own clients and teams to hear their take on opportunities for improvements. The more input and counsel you can gather, the better.
Overdo It
Nothing breeds anxiety and paranoia more than a reorganization. The simplest advice for managing through it is – more, more, more.
Communicate earlier, more often and for longer than you think you need to. Limit what’s kept under wraps because it will eventually get out. And don’t fall prey to communicating by checklist alone. Just because you communicated it once, hosted a training session or provided a new process manual doesn’t mean it was understood or remembered.
Update Required
Transformational change requires an operating system reboot to support it. Customs, vocabulary and processes of the past may no longer suit where you’re headed.
How are teams assigned? How should they collaborate? Will expectations change? What processes will deliver consistent high-quality outputs? How do we decide what’s a priority? Yes, now it’s finally time to think about your org chart, along with examining every practice from project initiation to post-project reviews.
Appoint someone to manage the effort who can play the roles of project manager and transformation advocate. They can help others understand the strategy, execute on the vision and keep watch on how important information is communicated (and received).
Shoot Straight for the Target
This effort is not about finding new places to put people – it needs to be bigger than simply shuffling and restacking the boxes in the closet. The purpose is to take an honest look at what will make the work more strategic and effective now and into the future. It requires a clear vision, a strategy that everyone understands, patience as you build the infrastructure and resources, and stakeholders who believe the work will be more impactful, fulfilling and better on the other side.
And if you ever need unvarnished advice, you can always talk to a kid. They’ll give it to you straight. Just ask my mom.
Tina Charpentier is EVP, Client Experience at Padilla, a full-service agency that transforms brands and organizations through strategically creative communications. She’s responsible for assuring that clients from across Padilla’s brands, sectors and practices have access to the firm’s full range of capabilities, services and talent – applying agency best practices in strategy, planning, program execution and measurement.
